How vloggers are changing the way universities connect with students

Can a student with a camera help people connect with universities? Our Digital Marketing Assistant, Frankie, looks into the way vloggers are building a bridge between academic institutions and the students they want to reach.

As a seventeen-year-old deciding on which path to take next, I can see how the image of what life is like at university is starting to darken into this dull, stressful and expensive journey. If only the world had some creative students to liven the place up and turn its image into a fun and express yourself environment. Welcome to the world of YouTube!

YouTube is a platform that can allow videos to reach a mass audience and because of this universities and their students have carried on a long-lasting trend called vlogging.

This is now commonplace in universities, with some students even getting paid good money to produce the content.

Which student vloggers are the most effective at getting the message across? We chose four of our favourites.

Ibz Mo

Ibz Mo is the Uk’s most famous university vlogger, with over 86,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. He is seen as the benchmark for any aspiring students wanting to make it a regular job. Studying within Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge, Ibz Mo is consistently making vlogs at a rate of at least two a week, keeping his audience enticed and motivated to stick with his channel.

It’s crazy how having just a laptop and a camera has got Ibz Mo this far with him now creating content like advice, vlogs and storytimes for masses of people.

The honesty is what has got Ibz Mo so far on YouTube. He talks about his past experiences with different universities, warning people about it if they don’t treat their students very well. It’s rare you find a vlogger that opens up so much about these sorts of things; most people are afraid of upsetting other universities.

Away from university Ibz Mo uses personal vlogs to show off his personality and often talks about personal subjects like his own medical conditions and bullying that has affected his education. Viewers can relate to what he’s saying, while finding it helpful at the same time.

UnJaded Jade

Jade is an 18-year-old student currently studying at Bristol University. Through her channel UnJaded Jade she uses her exciting and overly enthusiastic personality to share humorous but informative content.

She focuses less on university life, and more on the journey that got her there, sharing helpful content like her own experience during school exams and advice on her early morning routine and homework schedules.

She, like Ibz Mo, is very honest and personal on her channel, opening up about her past experiences being bullied and how she is finding university. People like Jade are essential in a university environment; such open and honest posts really help others learn about what to expect.

Selina Ozay

Selina Ozay is a 20-year-old student studying at the University of Exeter. She comes across as a very sensible, role model type as to how you should behave and act on YouTube.

She shares how she felt during her time in the first few years at university, like the way people interacted with each other seemed very forced and it seemed like there were lots going on when there really wasn’t. Talking about this experience might make viewers rethink going to university and risk being forced through these sorts of things.

She does a lot of these experience videos which is really helpful to the YouTube audience because she’s been there and experienced it herself so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

On the other hand, making this sort of content can also backfire if you’re really talking down a university and another YouTuber. If a university disagrees with you it can create a bad reputation for yourself.

Love life at Uni

Now, this is one I really am beginning to like the look of. The YouTube channel called Love life at Uni is controlled by the University of London and is very different from the other typical YouTube vloggers. This platform offers a pay-to-vlog service which is one of the reasons so many people are copying things like this.

This channel doesn’t feature just one vlogger, not two, or three, neither four, but…as many as they want. That’s right! With this being a channel dedicated to the whole university it allows a different vlogger to make an appearance each video. That way you’re not staring at the same face every video and it gives viewers a chance to get different opinions and experiences from each vlogger.

The use of all these different vloggers being included gives the sense that anybody can be a vlogger and is good for the diversity reasons so everyone from any background can feel confident in front of the camera without being hushed down.

The content the University of London are putting out are all about answering you’re questions which include: Will I make friends? How will I afford it? Where will I live? These are all designed to prepare you for university life. The idea of this channel is to really show what the university is all about, seeing if its right for you and getting a real-time view from people that are actually there studying at the moment.

Has the teamwork between vloggers and their universities succeeded?

Simply: Yes! It’s made a big impact on the world of education and online platforms.

Universities have now recognised that teaming up with their own students maybe isn’t a bad idea after all. Instead of recognising its students for who they are it’s now beginning to move to recognising students for what they can do. It’s come a long way in a short space of time because I can even remember not so long ago when only the most beautiful and confident people did vlogging.

With YouTube now growing bigger and as each day went by there was a gap for these types of vloggers at universities which has now been filled so people can express themselves and give advice no matter who they are or where they’re from.

The best channel that shows this has succeeded is the University of London where they are making sure everyone is feeling included and it’s actually worked for the best with viewers now seeking different opinions and experiences online, it’s amazing all this hasn’t happened sooner.

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